As strikes and protests calling for democratic change increase in Sudan, Education International expresses solidarity with the academics and unionists and supports their demands.
The protest movement began in response to the government’s attacks on living standards through austerity measures, which led to workers not being paid and the cost of basic goods going up. Teachers, academics, health workers, journalists, lawyers and workers across the public sector have supported the call for democratic elections after the country’s long transition period.
Although Education International (EI) does not yet have a member organisation in Sudan, it took public actions to request the release of imprisoned academics in 2018 and 2019. Both times the academics were promptly released. EI joined with leading human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Scholars at Risk, to intervene with the authorities. It continues to demand the immediate release of all political prisoners. It calls for an end to torture and violence and respect for the rights of citizens peacefully exercising their rights to assembly and expression rather than imprisoning them.
EI’s on-going action in favour of respect of human rights
In 2004, the 4th EI Congress adopted a resolution on Sudan requesting EI and its affiliates to “support the ending of violence in Sudan and protesting the continuing pattern of gross human rights abuses”. The resolution also called EI to urge national governments and intergovernmental organisations to support and expand humanitarian aid programmes for displaced populations trapped in refugee camps in Sudan and Chad. In 2017, EI obtained funding to initiate professional development programmes for refugee teachers in South Sudan and Uganda.